Mass production machine for dieforming sheet metal blanks



A. ILLSCHE MASS PRODUCTION MACHINE FOR DIE FORMING SHEET METAL BLANKSFeb. 15, 1949.

INVENTOR.

4 Sheets-Sheet 1 MOTOR Filed March 1, 1946 Feb. 15, 1949. A. ILLSCHEMASS PRODUCTION MACHINE FOR DIE FORMING SHEET METAL BLANKS 4Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 1, 1946 IN V EN T OR.

A. ILLSCHE DUCT ING SH MASS Feb 15, 1949.

ION MACHINE FOR DIE EET METAL BLANKS 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed March 1,1946 Feb. 15, 1949. sc 2;.46L688 MASS PRODUCTION MACHINE FOR DIE FORMINGSHEET METAL BLANKS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed March 1. 1946 I INVENTOR. BY

. Hull; M

fective and imperfect Patented Feb. 15, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEMASS PRODUCTION MACHINE FOR DIE- FQRMING SHEET METAL BLANKS ArthurIllsche, Rye, N. Y. Application March 1, 1946, Serial No. 651,130

8 Claims.

' This invention relates generally to mass production machines and moreparticularly to driving gear for operating multiple spindle/assembliesin such machines.

As it will aid in a clearer understanding of the spindle assembly anditsoperating gearing if applied to serve a practical purpose, they will bedescribed and illustrated in a machine for die-forming small sheet metalarticles but no claim is made herein to either the dies or the articlesproduced by them, as forming any part of the present invention.

Machines of the same type, as herein described, but which differ in thegearing employed for driving the die-carrying spindles and in otherrespects, are disclosed in my copending applications, filed of even dateherewith In die-forming blanks, I have found screw threads in sheetmetal that heavy loss from dedie work'can be avoided by causing the diesto press, draw and spin the metal in each thread-forming operation.Combining these actions eases the strain on the metal blank and enablesit to withstand formation by the dies without cracking, wrinkling,collapsing or being otherwise damaged.

The necessity for combining the actions mentioned, becomes at onceapparent in threading the conical or frusto-conical portion of smallblanks of button sizes, which could not be done by pressing or drawingor spinning alone, owing to the limited area of the metal presented andthe small amount of clearance that is available foraction by the diesand as the thread spirals from the base to the apex of the cone, whereit terminates in a blunt point, a perfect terminal formation can only beproduced by easing the die action as above described on the thinly drawnmetal at the apex of the cone.

To obtain the above describeddie action, the dies of each coacting pair.while being rotated in opposite directions, to give them a drawing andspinning action on the blank, arecaused to approach and contactthe blankat different and serially numbered 651,129 and 651,131.

speeds, the male die advancing more-rapidly than the female die, whichenables the male die to enter and be utilized as a filler and supportfor the blank, thus reinforcing it preliminary to the action of theslower moving female die, by which, assisted by the male die, the blankis pressed, drawn and spun over the male'die, to form the thread.

To meet the above mentioned requirements in mass production machines, asuitable number of 2 coacting pairs of die-carrying spindles areassembled preferably in double-line formation for simultaneous operationby reciprocating rack bars, each acting through a train of gearing thatengages and drives the pinions of a group of spindles and rotates thesame alternately in opposite directions. The gearing that drives thespindles'carrying the male dies, is intermittently rotated atcomparatively high speed, by cam action, to give themale dies a rapidadvance into the cones of the blanks, then a momentary period of restand a rapid retraction, following the action of the female dies on thelanks. The gearing. that drives the spindles carrying the female dies,is rotated by eccentric action to give them a'comparatively slow advanceand retraction.

The conical blanks to be threaded, are preformed in a stripof ribbonmetal drawn from a reel and the stripis given a step by step advance byanautomatie feed, that brings a cone blank in centered relation betweeneach cooperating pair of dies.

Following the threading operation, the strip is run through a punchingmachine by which the threaded cones are punched out with a marginalflange at the base of the cone for a suitable edge finish or attachmentto an ornamental button overlap or the like.

Other features-of the invention not specially mentioned above will bebrought to attention in the detail description that follows.

A machine construction suitable for carrying the invention into effect,is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, but, it will be understood,that no limitations are intended by this showing, other than are imposedby the appended claims.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a topplan view of the machine.

Fig. 2 is a vertical cross section on the line S S of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a detail plan view, on an enlarged scale, of the gearing forrotating the die-carrying spindles in groups.

Figs. 4 and 5 are central vertical longitudinal sections of acooperating pair of die-carry-- Fig. 8 is a sectional view on the lineSL-S of Fig. 1.

Fig. 9 shows a portion of the strip of blanks and Fig. 10 shows one ofthe blanks after it is die-formed.

Referring now to the drawings, the main frame of the machine, as bestshown in Figs. 1 and 2, consists of a rectangular base plate I, from thelonger opposite sides of which front and rear walls 2, 3, rise toprovide support for the operating mechanism. The die-carrying spindles.are mounted on the outer side of the front wall 2, along with certainelements of the gearing, by which the spindles are alternately rotatedin opposite directions to advance and retract the dies carried bycooperating pairs of the spindles. The main portion of the spindledriving gear is mounted on the inner side of the .rear wall 3 and on theopposite side of the wall,

a source of power is indicated, in the form of a motor 4.

The motor shaft 5 is suitably geared, as indicated at 6, in Fig. 2, todrive the main cross shaft '1 of the machine and power from the motor tothe shaft is controlled by a clutch 8, the operating lever of which isindicated at 9, in Figs. 1 and 2.

The cross shaft 1 is mounted in bracketed bearings it], ill, projectingfrom the inner side of the rear wall and through bevel gearing H, H atopposite ends, is connected to'drive two vertically disposed shafts l 2,l2, in opposite directions. The shafts 52, I2 are mounted in bracketedbearings l3, l3, projecting from the rear wall and have fast thereoneccentrics l4, I4, at their upper ends and cams i5, ill, at their lowerends, as best shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

The eccentrics M, M, through gearing hereinafter described, operate tocontinuously impart alternate rotation in opposite directions, to theupper series of spindles that carry the female dies and the cams l5, [5,as hereinafter described, operate to impart intermittent rotation inopposite directions to the lower series of spindles that carry the maledies. It may be added, as will later on appear, that excepting thedifference between the eccentric drive and the cam drive, the'form ofgearing through which motion is transmitted from each of them to thedie-carrying spindles,

is substantially identical.

Rack bars [8, l6, connected to be reciprocated by the eccentrics M, M,engage gears l1, l1, mounted on stud shafts l 8, l3, carried by bracketsl9, l9, projecting from'opposite sides of the front wall 2. The rackbars are held in engagement with the gears by suitable retaining devices23, 26, free to move about the shafts, to adapt them selves tovariations in the angle of the rack bars as they swing under the driveof the eccentrics.

The cams l5, l5, each acting between two rollers 2i, 2i of a slide 22,movable in a guide 23 (see Figs. 2 and 7), operate to intermittentlyreciprocate the rack bars 24, 24, in opposite directions. The rack barsare pivoted to the slides and engage gears 25, 25, mounted on studshafts 26, 26, carried by brackets projecting from the front wall 2.Retaining members 21, 21, similar to those above described in referenceto the eccentrically driven rack bars, are here employed to serve thesame purpose.

Forming a continuation of each eccentric drive through an engaging rackbar 16 and gear IT, as above described, a pinion 28 and gear 23, aremounted on a suitably bracketed stud shaft to rotate together, thepinion 28 meshing with'the gear l l, by which it is driven andthe gear29 meshing with and driving the pinions 30 of a two-member group ofdie-carrying spindles, arranged in line formation, as best shown inFigs. 1 and 3. Rotation of the gears 29, 29 in same direction, willcause the spindles of both groups to be simultaneously rotated in thesame direction and as these two groups form the upper series of spindlesthat carry the female dies, the action of the rack bars l6, It, inreciprocating, will first rotate them clockwise, to advance the dies tothe blanks and then reverse the rotation, to retract the dies, to enablethe strip of blanks to be fed forward for the next operation.

As an exact duplication of the gearing, above described in connectionwith the eccentric drives,

is employed as continuations of the cam drives, through engaging rackbars and gears, to rotate the two groups of spindles that form the'lowerseries and carry the male dies, in a direction opposite that of theupper series, the construction and arrangement will beapparent withoutthe aid of a detailed description.

For purposes of illustration, eight die-carrying spindles are shown,arranged in four cooperating pairs but this number may be increased ordecreased as will be apparent. As previously stated, the spindles 3i,carrying the female dies 32, are shown forming the upper group and thespindles 33, carrying the male dies 34, as the lower group, anarrangement that may be reversed, if desired.

The spindles, mounted in supporting blocks 35, 36, are assembled inseparate clamp frames 35*, 36 which are bolted or otherwise secured tothe outer side of the front wall of the machine, as best shown in Figs.1 and 3, the assemblies being arranged one above the other, suitablyspaced apart to provide clearance between them for entrance and passageof a strip of sheet metal 31, as shown in Fig. 8, in which conical orfrustroconical blanks 38 have been preformed. Suitable spacing members(not shown) may be employed between the blocks to separate the spindlesor group them into closer relation, as may be required, to bring themintocentering register with the blanks on the strip.

A booster block 39, doweled to the lower block assembly, as indicated at40, in Fig. 8, is provided with a shelf-like extension 4| and togetherthey serve as a support for the strip of blanks. In addition to beingbored for the passage of the spindles, parallel slots 42, 42 are formedin the booster block to receive guides 43, of blanks is steadied as itis advanced to the dies by an automatic feed, driven by a shaft,indicated at 44, and as it is of conventional form, need not be furtherdescribed. l

The spindles 3| and 33, of the upper and lower series, are of identicalconstruction and each consists of a tubular body 45, reduced asindicated at 46 and shouldered at ,to receive the pinion 30, by which,through the-gearing above described, the spindle is given alternaterotation in opposite directions. The pinion is secured to the spindle bybeing clamped against the shoulder 41, by a main nut 48 and an addedclamp nut .49, threaded on the spindle, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

The advance and retraction of the dies is effected by a screw feedprovided by threading each spindle its supporting block, as indicated at50, in Fig. 8, the pitch of the thread being such that as the spindlesare given a predetermined number of turns, first, in one direction, thenin, the other,

the required movement will be imparted to them 43, by which the strip bythe screw feed to bring the vdiesintoand out of cooperating relationwith the blanks.

The end of 5! of the spindle to which the die is attached, is reduced,as indicated at 52 and shouldered, at 53 to provide a seat for the dieblock, which is socketed to conform to .theseat and secured thereon by along bolt 54, that extends throughthe tubular bodyof the spindle and isthreaded into the block as indicated at 55., To remove a die forinspection or renewal, it will only be necessary, as will be seen, tounscrew'the bolt, which leaves the spindleotherwise intact.

To form perfect screw threads in small metal blanks of button sizes,very, fine adjustments of the dies are requiredand in order that theymay be made without removing or disengaging the spindle drivin'gearing,itwo.zsuch adjustments are provided, one to advance or retardthe reversal of the stroke of any one or more of the eccentrics or cams,with relation to the movement of either group of dies and the other toadvance or retract any one or more of the dies individually, that may beunder-acting or over-acting, in the formation of the screw threads.

' The first mentioned adjustment is best shown in Fig. 1, in whicheither of the, rack bars [6, It may be shifted lengthwise,- a limiteddistance, in either direction, by means of the screw bolts 56, 56,without moving the eccentrics or the cams. These bolts. acting on theblock 51, movable in a guide slot58, in the rack barfmay be turnedtoshift the bar lengthwise relative to the stud 59, that projects throughthe block and connects the bar to the eccentric or to the cam slide. Inthus shifting one of the rack bars l6, for example, the gearingconnecting it to a group of the spindles, will be given proportionatemovement, causing the dies of that group to move up or down, dependingupon the direction in which the rack bar is shifted.

For individual adjustment of any one or more ofthe dies, it is onlynecessary to run the clamp nut 49, and the main nut 48, back a few turnson the spindle to reduce the clamp pressure that holds the pinion fastthereon and as the pinion is held against turning by being engaged bythe gear 29 of the driving train, the spindle, thus freed, may berotated in either direction by hand or the aid of a suitable tool andthe screw feed acting, will raise or lower the die as required. Afterthe die is adjusted and the nuts 48 and 49 are tightened up, the spindlewill be ready for use.

As the operation and many advantages of the machine will be apparentfrom the foregoing, it will not be necessary to further describe thesame.

I claim:

1. In a mass production machine, a plurality of rotatable spindlescooperating in pairs and assem-- bled for group operation, each spindlebeing provided with a pinion by which it is driven, gearing for eachgroup of spindles including a reciprocating rack bar and a gear driventhereby engaging the pinions of the spindles of the group with which itis associated to simultaneously rotate the spindles, the direction ofrotation alternating with the back and forth movement of the rack bar,the aforesaid gearing being adapted to rotate the spindles of each pairin opposite directions and at different speeds, and screw feeding meansresponsive to rotation of the spindles for advancing the spindles ofeach pair towards each other and being automatically reversed to retractthe spindles after each operation.

2. A mass production machine as defined in claim 1, in which thespindles cooperating in 6 pairs are assembled in groupsseparately drivenbut all operated simultaneously from a single source of power.

3. In a mass production machine, a plurality of rotatable spindlescooperating in pairs and assembled for group operation, each spindlebeing provided with a pinion by which it is driven, gearing includingrack bars reciprocating in opposite directions and a gear driven by eachrack bar engaging the pinions of one of each pair of spindles of a groupfor-simultaneously rotating the same, the direction of rotationalternating with the back and forth movement of the rack bars,groupadjusting means for the spindles by shifting the rack associatedwith a group lengthwisewhile the rackbar is in gear, and screw feedingmeans actuated by rotation of the spindles for advancing the spindles ofeach pair towards each other, the screw feed acting upon reversal ofrotation of the spindles to retract the same after each operation.

4. In a mass production machine, a plurality of rotatable spindlescooperating in pairs and assembled for group operation, each spindlebeing provided with a pinion by which it is driven, gearingin-cluding'reciprocating rack bars anda gear driven by each rack barengagingthe pinions of one of each pair of spindles of a group, the saidrack bars being geared to impart simultaneous rotation through saidgears to'the several roups of spindles, certain j of said rack barsbeing reciprocated 'by eccentric action and others by cam action toimpart requisite rotation to the spindles with which they areassociated, the aforesaid gearing operating to rotate the spindles ofeach pair in opposite directions, group adjustment means for thespindles operating to reposition the rack bar associated with a groupwhile it is in gear, and screw feeding means actuated by the gearing foradvancing the spindles of each pair towards each other, the aforesaidgearing acting at the end of each operation to reverse the screw feedand thereby retract the spindles.

5. In a mass production machine, a plurality of rotatable spindlescooperating in pairs, the

' spindles of each pair being positioned one above the other and adaptedto be rotated in opposite directions, gearing including power-drivengears meshing with pinions on the spindles and alternately rotated inopposite directions, each of said gears engaging the pinions of a groupof spindles to rotate them simultaneously, the gears associated withgroups of the upper spindles being rotated with periodic reversal in thedirection of rotation by a continuously driven element and the gearsassociated with groups of the lower spindles being intermittentlyrotated with periodic reversals and screw feeding mean-s actuated by thegearing for advancing the spindles of each pair towards each other, theaforesaid gearing automatically reversing the screw feed to retract thespindles at the end of each operation.

6. In a mass production machine, a plurality of rotatable spindlescooperating in pairs, the spindles of each pair being axially alignedone above the other and adapted to be rotated in opposite directions,gearing including powerdriven rack bars and gears rotated by the rackbars and meshing with pinions on the spindles, each of said gearsengaging the pinions of a group of spindles to rotate themsimultaneously, the gears associated with groups of the upper spindles[being driven with periodic reversals by eccentric action at relativelylow speeds and the gears associated with groups of the lower spindlesbeing intermittently driven with periodic re- .versals by camaction-atrelatively high spe'e'd,"

and-screw feeding means actuatedbyrotati-on of the spindles foradvancing the spindles of each pair towards each other, the reversal ofrotationof the spindles causing the Screw feed to retract the spindles;r

.7. In a mass production machine, a plurality of rotatable spindlescooperating in pairs, the spindles'of each pair being positioned oneabove the other and axially. aligned, gearing including power-drivenrack bars andgears rotated by the rack bars and meshingxwith pinions onthe spindles, each of said gears engaging the pinions of a group ofspindles and-cooperating collectively to rotate the 'upper and lowerspindles of the several groups simultaneously but in opposite directionsand at'difieren't speeds, the gears associated with groups of the upperand lower spindles being intermittently driven, and screw feeding meansactuated by the gearing for advancing the spindles of each pair towardseach other, the aforesaid gearing operating to periodically reverse therotation of the spindles and thereby cause the screw feed to retractthem after each operation.

8. In a massproduction machine, aplurality of spindles cooperating inpairs and assembled for group operation, the spindles of each pair beingaxially aligned and positioned one above the other forming upper andlower groups'of spindles, adapted to be rotated in fopposite directions, means for imparting'alternating rotation in oppositedirections to each of-the upper I groups of spindles and meansfor'similarly ac tuating each of the lower-groups of spindles; theaforesaid means including for each group a power-driven gear-directlyengaging pinions on the spindles of the group with'which it is asso-'ciated for simultaneously rotatirigth spindles, and screw feeding meansresponsive to rotation of the spindles for'advancing the'spindlestowards each other, the screw feed being automatically reversed toretract and separate the spindles after each operation. v I ARTHURILLSCHE;

REFERENCES CITED The following, references are of record in the file .ofthis patent: r

-UNITED STATES PATENT Number Name I q I 121,435 Stone "Nov. 28, i871403,199 Langlands 'May 14, 1889 1,352,840 Shanta $ept."14,' 192 01,696,453 Reid V Dec. 25, 1928 2,019,493 Hothersall ,NOV."5, 19352,340,472 Illsche Feb.'1',1944

2,349,240 Aimen 4 May 23, 1944 2,353,349 Merolle July 11,}94?

